Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Iowa today…he’ll meet with Gov. Kim Reynolds, then plans to tour recreational vehicle manufacturer Winnebago Industries and give an address to its employees in Forest City. It will be Pence’s second trip to Iowa in as many months. In early May, Pence visited the Des Moines area to participate in a coronavirus panel with political and business leaders, and spoke to a group of faith leaders about resuming religious services.
Senate Republicans have said they would wait to determine if another CARES Act would be necessary, but over the weekend a member of the Trump Administration floated the idea of another $2 trillion stimulus package. I asked U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley about the prospects of another CARES bill yesterday. You can hear my full interview with Sen. Grassley in the 10 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local today.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 162 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death in a 24-hour-period Monday morning. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 24,041. To date, 652 Iowans have died from COVID-19…but only two over the past three days.
We’ve learned much in the past two months about the motives underlying investigation of Trump campaign officials by the FBI, thanks to the interim director of national intelligence, Ric Grennell. Iowa U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, for one, was pleased that the information was made public. Hear the full conversation with the New Hartford Republican later today during KXEL Live & Local; the program begins at 9 a.m.
Prairie Meadows opened its doors Monday for the first time in nearly 3 months, but staff say guests will notice a lot of changes. The most drastic is on the casino floor. Gaming tables are still closed, for now. Only half of the casino’s 2,000 gaming machines are open, and they’re separated by new Plexiglas screens. Prairie Meadows says it expects a slow return to normal. The buffet is also gone for now. Instead, the newly-named Triple Crown Restaurant will serve from a new menu. The horses are back, too. The racing season starts Friday, without spectators.
Officials associated with Cedar Valley Honor Flights have suspended all 2020 flights due to the pandemic, following a recommendation by the National Honor Flight Board. Honor Flights allow veterans to fly from the Waterloo Regional Airport to visit military memorials in Washington, D.C. Officials with the Sullivan Hartogh Davis Cedar Valley Honor Flights postponed a May trip earlier; now, the flight scheduled for September is also off the calendar.
Cedar Falls City Hall reopened to the public Monday. You may recall City Hall was closed Friday after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The building as cleaned in accordance with city policy and CDC recommendations. The City reminds the public if you must visit Cedar Falls City Hall, you can only visit the front desks upstairs and downstairs. All visitors must wear masks and abide by social distancing.
The University of Iowa announced longtime strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle will no longer coach for the Iowa football program. The university announced Monday the two have reached an immediate “separation agreement”. Doyle voluntarily resigned from his position, and will in return receive 15 months of his base salary in two lump sum installments, totaling $1.1 million. The University also announced a Kansas City law firm will conduct an independent review of issues and allegations concerning racial disparities within the Iowa football program. The allegations first starting coming in from former black players on Twitter more than a week ago. Doyle was put on administrative leave shortly afterwards.
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa made news recently by blocking consideration of two Trump Administration appointees until more information was released about why the State Department inspector general was fired. Grassley did receive a letter from the administration that he says exposes a flaw in the law on the topic; one he plans to change through a bill he’ll introduce later this week. More from Sen. Grassley later this morning in the 10 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local.
Pools may be closed this summer, but the city of Cedar Rapids is reopening a popular summertime attraction for area families in the city’s parks. The Parks and Recreation Department says splash pads at 11 parks in the city will resume operation this week, with all locations expected to be operational by Wednesday. The opening of these facilities had been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Officials say they will be sanitizing touchpoints like sensors or buttons to turn on the water daily, but that other parts of the splash pad will not undergo any extra cleaning.
